With little if any increases from the state, and bonding adding to costs, officials look for another way to maintain streets

OCONTO - City officials are kicking the tires on a proposal to impose a wheel tax.

Mayor Lloyd Heier told council members on Sept. 11 he wanted to start a discussion on the issue, as the most recent increase in road funding from the state amounted to just $4,000.

“I get complaints and calls all the time that the roads aren’t good in Oconto and we need to correct them, but how do we correct them if we don’t have (the money),” he said. “If we don’t do something, 10 years from now we’re going to be in worse shape than we are today. That’s just reality.”

Superintendent of Streets and Public Works Jeremy Wusterbarth doesn’t expect to state to provide additional money, especially with diverting $90 million of state aid to the Foxconn project in the Racine area.

Jeremy Wusterbarth

“We won’t see increase and may see a decrease,” he said.

According to the Department of Motor Vehicles, 19 municipalities and eight counties charge a wheel tax of between $10 and $30. The city of Gillett, which charges $20, is the only nearby community with a wheel tax.

A wheel tax of $20 in Oconto would raise an estimated $108,000 annually. The fee is added to the annual vehicle registration charge.

“I don’t like to see new tax, but on the other hand, we have to do something to get our roads maintained here in the city, and one of the fairest ways is that everybody who uses the road helps pay for it,” Alderperson Al Schreiber said.

City Administrator Sara Perrizo said a wheel tax should be viewed the same as the city selling blue garbage bags to help pay for refuse collection.

“We have to raise this money somehow, and if we don’t raise it through wheel tax, we’re going to have to put it on people’s tax bills,” Perrizo said. “if we put on a wheel tax, the nonprofits pay, renters pay … toward that road. It’s a user fee instead.”

In 2017, the city issued $2.8 million in bonds, $2.3 million of which was to be used for road projects. McDonald Street, Holtwood Way, Lindsey and Washburn Avenues were reconstructed last year or this year, with widening and adding sidewalks to three blocks of Doran Street planned for next year.

“What people got to remember is that we took out a big huge chunk of bonding to pay for some of these streets that are getting done right now,” Schreiber said. “Can we afford to keep doing that in the future?”

Robert LeBreck(Photo: Submitted)

Alderperson Bob LeBreck said he spoke with a few residents about a wheel tax.

“I got some interesting answers, some I can’t (repeat) here,” LeBreck said to chuckles from the rest of the council. “Unless we go to referendum and let people decide, I don’t think I want to touch it.”

Schreiber said a referendum “would be an exercise in futility.”

“Nobody’s ever going to vote for a tax,” he said.

Alderperson Kim Bronikowski said a referendum for that small of an amount wouldn’t be worthwhile, but but said she would like additional information.

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Kim Bronikowski(Photo: USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)

“I’m certainly against taxing … unless we have some concrete numbers (that) we’re not going to have the money for funding or have the money to repair roads,” she said.

Schreiber noted that the city of Green Bay last year is considering a wheel tax again after deciding against it just a year ago, after homeowners complained when they were hit with five-figure assessments to repair streets on which they live. Oconto residents are only charged for the cost of curb and gutter along their property.

“I don’t want to pay any more tax — nobody does — but on the other hand, we have to do something to keep our roads going forward,” he said.

Depending on the work being done and the length of the project, road construction can cost several hundred thousand dollars. The east run of McDonald Street this year was $1.5 million, but that included storm and sewer laterals. Resurfacing-only of the much shorter Holtwood Way was just over $150,000.

“We’ve done a lot of roads last 10 to 15 years, and we’ll be putting a lot of maintenance in to keep them up,” Wusterbarth said. “You’re going to fall behind if don’t do maintenance on those streets.”

Several council members said the city needs to make sure that residents know what road projects are planned for the city and their estimated cost.

Jean Feldt(Photo: Submitted)

“It makes it easier for people to understand what we’re doing,” Alderperson Jean Feldt said. “I just don’t to push stuff forward with no explanation.”

The issue is expected to go back to the Public Works Committee for further discussion, then return to the City Council next month for a possible decision.